Mexican food review: Cristina’s in McKinney

by Colette Copeland of Colette's Dallas Mexican Food Reviews

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Am I doomed to experience nothing but mediocrity?

Photo by Colette Copeland

Dining room at Cristina's in McKinney

I took my son to Cristina's in McKinney, a few miles away from our chiropractor. Since there were no shortage of Mexican restaurants within a five mile radius, I Googled a bunch to determine which we would choose. Cristina's (in existence since 1989) boasted a combination of Tex-Mex with authentic dishes. I realized that I don't really like Tex-Mex all that much. I don't like lard, the main ingredient of refried beans. Cheese enchiladas with bland ranchero sauce don't excite me.

The interior is beautiful. The server was very attentive, though we went at 5 p.m., when the restaurant wasn't busy. Guac was fresh but kind of bland. Joy of all joys --they had black beans, so my son could order a black bean and cheese burrito. The waiter raved about the black beans. My son inhaled them in 30 seconds and said they were rather bland. He then exhibited a rare, daring food sense of adventure and ordered a beef burrito with queso, which he said was better, but not great.

I wasn't super hungry so I ordered a staple, tortilla soup. Edible, but mediocre. I tend to like my soup with a rich broth. This one was a bit bland, with more of a tomato base and less chicken. I don't like big chunks of things in my soup -- it tells me that the cook was too lazy to chop the red peppers, onions, and chicken (which was a bit stringy).

Sometimes I think writing art criticism has ruined me of ever appreciating art again. Perhaps the same is true for food writing. Am I doomed to experience nothing but mediocrity? One disappointment after another? And since I'm not an official food critic, I have to PAY for all the mediocre food.

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